49ers hoping for a bounce-back by signing WR Marqise Lee

The 49ers needed to infuse some veteran experience into their wide receiver room, and the hope is Marqise Lee can provide that in 2021.

Somewhat surprisingly, the San Francisco 49ers didn’t take a wide receiver in the 2021 NFL Draft despite it being labeled as one of the deeper classes in recent memory.

And after losing their No. 3 option on the depth chart, Kendrick Bourne, to the New England Patriots in NFL free agency, the non-selection of a wideout in the draft remained a bit more puzzling.

Well, the hope is now the Niners can bank on some additional veteran savvy with the free-agent pickup of former Jacksonville Jaguars and Patriots wide receiver Marqise Lee, who participated in San Francisco’s rookie minicamp over the weekend and managed to carve out a new deal with the 49ers as a result, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:

Lee, 29 years old, joined the Jaguars as a second-round NFL Draft pick back in 2014 out of USC. And while Lee didn’t exactly benefit from an overly productive Jacksonville offense during his tenure, he was notably impressive enough between 2016 and 2017:

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Generated 5/17/2021.

Lee’s 2019 campaign was cut short due to a knee injury — and another knee injury ended his 2018 efforts before they even started — and he eventually signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots in 2020 but elected to opt out because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Patriots released him earlier this offseason.

49ers looking for an experienced possession receiver in Marqise Lee

The Niners don’t exactly have a lot of proven depth at wide receiver behind Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. Richie James, a possible option out of the slot, has been scantly used on offense. Trent Taylor is now with the Cincinnati Bengals. Mohamed Sanu is getting up there in age, while Trent Sherfield was a low-key free-agent pickup from the Arizona Cardinals.

Meanwhile, Jalen Hurd and Jauan Jennings are both coming off injuries suffered last year and haven’t stepped foot on the field for a regular-season snap.

Read More: Post-NFL Draft 53-man bubble watch for 49ers roster

It’s likely San Francisco is hoping Lee provides the same kind of presence Bourne had as the team’s tertiary option at the position: someone capable of hauling in two to three catches per game, hopefully as a third-down option and red-zone weapon.

Case in point, in 2017 when Lee was last a major factor, all three of his touchdowns came within the red zone, and 17 of his 21 receptions on third down that year went for a first down.

Like Bourne, Lee isn’t necessarily the fastest of wide receivers out there, having run a 4.52 40-yard time back at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine, and he’s certainly lost a step now approaching 30 years old.

But if the 49ers get anything out of him, at least in terms of his veteran’s presence and experience, that could be a boost to a predominantly young crop of other pass-catchers at the position.

And as last year showed, it didn’t take long for injuries to completely ravage this position. One might assume the Niners are guarding against that, too, provided Lee is good enough to hang around on the regular-season roster after training camp.